Harrison Twp., Montgomery County — A Harrison Township man who was arrested last week for allegedly raping a boy while the two were at a local church, had been accused of inappropriate behavior with another child at the church in December, according to the church’s pastor.

Blake Cole, 19, of Harrison Twp., was arrested at the church around 11 p.m. on April 9. He is being held in Montgomery County Jail on a rape charge, in lieu of a $250,000 cash bond.

David Hood, executive pastor of Discipleship and New Church Development at Fort McKinley, a Ginghamsburg United Methodist Church at 3721 Siebenthaler Ave., said he was informed of the December incident shortly after it occurred.

Following the December incident, “Mr. Cole was confronted by church staff and was prohibited from serving in any capacity with children at the church, excluded from access to the children’s wing of the church and directed that he was never to be alone and in contact with any child at any point going forward both for his own safety and the safety of the children,” Hood said.

Prior to the December accusation, Cole was involved with the children’s ministry at the church.

No charges were filed in the December case, in which Cole was accused of touching a 7-year-old girl through her clothing in an inappropriate manner at the church, Hood said.

The parents of the girl who are not being identified by the Dayton Daily News, said although church leaders called the sheriff’s office when they told them about the accusation their daughter had made against Cole, church leaders should have done a better job of protecting the children in the church.

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